Typically, vehicle hoods are deformable when a downward force is exerted on the hood such as in a vehicle impact situation. However, the deformability of the hood can be influenced by the proximity of the hood to the rigid components in the vehicle's front (or engine) compartment. The hood's ability to absorb energy through deformation can be significantly impeded where the hood and engine compartment are in close proximity. In contrast, clearance between a vehicle hood and its engine compartment can increase the hood's ability to absorb energy when the hood is acted upon with a downward force. Therefore, notwithstanding other design concerns such as aerodynamics, it can be advantageous to increase the clearance between a vehicle hood and vehicle compartment in the frontward and rearward areas of the vehicle hood.
Also, since vehicle hoods cover engine components, they are typically configured to allow reasonable access to the front compartment of the vehicle for servicing of the engine compartments.